The Kings(and Queen) of Summer
by Lady Dragoneye
Summary: Alex, just an overachieving sophomore that just wants some friends and something to do over the summer. She tags along and helps Joe and his friends escape into the woods and find a place for them to be themselves. But this might turn out to be more than just a summer camping trip for everyone.
1. Chapter 1

It was the last day of school. I arrived at woodshop to do some extra credit and the only person there was the teacher. "Alex, literally no one is here. I wouldn't even be here if I wasn't being paid. Go home." My wood-shop teacher said. I looked around for anyone else to prove I wasn't the only one still here for the last period of the day and to my suprise, Joe was riding up to the school on his bike to hand in his final project. I've seen him around but not really talked to him.

"Hey, you're Joe, right?" I asked as he walked into the room.

"Yeah, and you're Alex. We have history and this class together."

"Why are you here, I thought only lame over-achievers are still here at the last period" I say as I gesture to my project. I was building a super birdhouse for extra credit. It had a swing roof, a little dining room, a room with hay beds for the birds, and even a loft area.

"I'm here to turn in my final project. You?" He wrung his hands together and looked nervously at his sad excuse for a birdhouse.

"Just finishing up my finals extra credit project." I said as I proudly glance at my bird-mansion. I just hear him sigh as he turns to our woodshop teacher.

"Your final project was due a week ago! School is over, both of you need to leave!" I decide to take his advice, handing in my project and grabbing my bag and tools. Joe follows behind me, walking a little slower than me. When we got a little further away from the school, I turn to talk to him.

"Hey, my frie-acquaintance, is hosting a party tonight for the end of school. Do you wanna come with?"

"Sure, when's it at?"

"Not sure exactly. How about I get your phone number and I call you with the details?"

"Ok-okay." I hand him my phone and my types in his number.

"See you tonight!" I yell as I walk away, back to my more secluded house.

When I get home I see my dad on a work call in his office. He waves to me and smiles. I walk upstairs to my room and unpack my bag. I organize my desk to keep my room nice and tidy(and yes I say nice and tidy, I'm that lame). I flop down on my bed and text Kelly to see when to show up to the party. She says to show up anytime after 9:00. I take a minute to check my social media before calling Joe. I call him and tell him to meet with me at a Mcdonalds around 9:00 to get dinner before the party.

I look at myself in my full length mirror in my bathroom. I look at the girl standing in front of me wearing a red cocktail dress that has a halter at the top, knee length boots with silver rose buttons along the side, my fiery red hair swept to one side and with some basic curls, and my classic red lipstick. I hardly recognize her. She looks so different than her usual jeans and a nerdy t-shirt. I tear my gaze away from the mirror and check the time. 8:45. I decide to start walking towards the Mcdonalds to meet Joe. When I make it there I don't see Joe or his bike anywhere(Neither one of us are old enough to drive yet). I check my phone, 9:03. I wait for 15 more minutes but he didn't show up. I sigh and decide to head to the party alone.

I take a shortcut through the woods that I traverse almost everyday to do homework or just take a break from life. I stop at my favorite spot, a clearing with trees surrounding it. It is beautiful tonight with the moon shining down like a moment from a movie. I grab the blanket I have hidden in a backpack in a tree nearby and lay it down on the ground. I close my eyes and let the cool air surround me for a moment. After a couple minutes I get up to go to the party, leaving the blanket there.

"Alex, what's up!" Kelly yells over the loud noise of rowdy teenagers.

"I'm doing fine, have you seen Joe? I invited him but never showed to our meeting place."

"Hasn't showed, and freshmen aren't allowed." Kelly's boyfriend replied.

"First off, both Joe and I are Sophomores and secondly, there were no rules for this party." Just as Kelly's boyfriend was about to start rambling I hear Joe and his best friend Patrick walk into the yard where the party is being held.

"Finally!" I smack Joe on the arm.

"Ouch, it wasn't my fault I didn't show up! My dad tried to host game night." He replied.

"What happened?" Patrick asked.

"Oh, it was great. The police didn't come. I love my father." Sarcasm emanating from each word.

"You know what, follow me." I grab Joe's hand without waiting for a reply. I can hear him trying to refuse to go but he didn't put up any restraint. After about 5 minutes I hear a gunshot. "Glad we missed that."

"Yeah." I lead him to my favorite spot in the woods, my own little secret.

"This is where I chill. I come here to escape from everything and everyone. This is where…"

"They won't find you."


	2. The Next Day

**The Next Day**

It's Saturday and I head downstairs for breakfast. As I walk into the dining room, my parents kind of gesture towards the door and I see Joe walking towards the house. I glance into the reflective surface of the oven to see how I look because I didn't bother with brushing my hair or putting on real clothes. Luckily, the curls held up from last night making my hair presentable and I chose actual pajamas instead of my normal basketball shorts and t-shirt. I walk over to the door just as Joe is ringing the doorbell.

"Hey, we need to talk. Wanna head out to get some lunch?" Joe says quickly as I open the door.

"What time is it? I just woke up."

"It's 11:45."

"Crap, sorry. Sure, I'll be back down in a sec." I sprint upstairs and look for an outfit. All that I can find that is clean is a bright yellow sundress. Its completely out of my style but it will have to make due. I run a brush through my hair to make it look less ratty and throw on my favorite grey beanie to counteract the neon-ness that is my dress. For shoes, I just throw on some simple black flats and I put some burgundy lipstick on. I glance at the mirror before going out and I look like a mess of colors, but I don't have any more time. I grab my phone and run back down the stairs, nervous that I'll miss one and slip all the way down like I've done so many times before.

"Ready to go!" I state as I rush out of my front door. Joe just looks at me wide-eyed and my parents wave me off.

"All right, I was thinking we could go to IHOP for breakfast." I nod in agreement and we head off.

Once we got to the restaurant and got seated, Joe looked up at me and grabbed my hand. "Listen, about that spot in the woods last night." I have a quick flashback of Joe and I laying down on the blanket, looking at constellations, talking about our lives and our parents and how we just want to get away sometimes.

"What about it?" I ask.

"Well," He stumbled over his thoughts like he was trying to word something very carefully.

"What is it, just spit it out." I was nervous that it was something bad about me. I really liked spending time with him and I didn't want him to feel bad about me.

"I was thinking that me, you, Patrick, and this kid named Biaggio could, I don't know, build a house there and live away from our parents." He mumbled the first bit but then got really excited. At first, I was confused. Building a house in the woods, running away from our parents. But then I thought about Joe. He looks really excited about this and I would love to join them on this adventure. It would be fun. I've camped before, I know how to build a fire, I know how to build stable structures(and Joe would need all the help he could get), and I could live out in the woods with my new friends. After a minute or so of thought, and probably sending Joe's mind in a flat spin, I reply.

"This sounds like a lot of fun! When do we start?"


End file.
